The Paved Sitting Area
Almost certainly you will want this, and it will probably be the garden’s most-used area. Most people, including the enthusiastic gardener, sometimes want to sit outside -rather than staying in or working non-stop on a fine day. So making a level paved area not far from the house is of prime importance. It may act as the transition between house and garden.

In our experience people tend to underestimate the area of paving that they require, whether from financial caution or from being unsure about how it will look. Certainly paving and walling is expensive, but the aftercare costs are minimal. The paved area should be of a reasonable size – it will look better and serve you better. As a general guide, a small paved area for entertaining one’s family and a few friends might be 36-48 sq yd, a medium area for entertaining say up to 30 people say 72-96 sq yd.

Even a moderate-sized area of paving should include adequate spaces for planting, to avoid looking too harsh. To have plants spilling over walls and spreading over the paved area can also be a delightful way of displaying different types of foliage in particular. Some of the more delicate foliage plants are so easily lost in a mixed planting and are enhanced by a plain background.

There are numerous materials that can be used for the paved surface. Natural stone or secondhand weathered materials such as flagstone or traditional brick pavers are ideal, but may be prohibitively expensive, so that artificial equivalents have to be found. Although there are many good products now available on the market, if old materials can be afforded they do blend better with garden planting. For example, the grey-brown color with hints of purple of field stone, looks particularly well with purple/red creeping thyme. Where artificial stone has to be used, its effect can be softened by combining it with others, such as brick or pebbles. This will tone down the brightness of the new material, and even artificial stone does weather eventually. We have had many suggestions for the weathering of new materials, but perhaps the best and most bizarre is to wet the stones with water from boiled rice! Apparently this assists rapid growth of algae and lichen; well worth a try, but perhaps not practical for a large-area.

Chozubachi (tall basin) and tsukubai (low basin) are two basic types of Japanese water features. Chozubachi come in many styles today but one traditional style for the large basin involves a tall cylinder-shaped stone with a hollowed out basin on its top where water collects. The low basins were once features of classical tea gardens where guests were able to use them much like outdoor sinks for rinsing the mouth and hands. Today, both add the rustic serenity and beauty of water to any patio or landscape.

Other Oriental water features are generally as rustic but might better be described as fountains. For instance, a simple stone basin might be accompanied by a soft trickle of water emanating from a slim strip of bamboo. While some purists might prefer rustic ornamentation in order to mimic the role of nature in the garden, others might take advantage of pieces with more decorative flair. For instance, rather than a stone basin, consider a resin option heavily carved or painted with Oriental images.

For both China and Japan, essential features of their landscapes include mountains and water. Both of these elements required bridges for people to get from place to place. For this reason, Oriental bridges are frequently used in eastern gardens even when their main function is for enjoying a scenic view. If your landscape has a stream or creek, consider the popular Chinese-style camelback bridge. For a truly ornate look, consider a Japanese style bridge covered with red paint and heavily lacquered for a dramatic focal point.

Of course, platforms may be even more functional for your garden as they can be places to add furniture or potted plants. Frequently a zigzag pattern for planks would be set beside a pond. Few features denote Japanese garden beauty the way simple platforms beside clear blue water do.

Bamboo fences not only provide your yard with privacy and pose as barriers, but few elements convey an Oriental look quite like them. There are many styles to consider. Kennin-ji fences may be formal or rustic in design. Nightingale fences are reminiscent of country landscapes with their characteristic brush tops—these are perfect for transforming a simple setting into a romantic garden inspired by the ancient Orient.

Depending on the need for privacy, any bamboo fence may feature open work or be constructed more like a wall to create a true outdoor room so typical of Chinese courtyard gardens. However, when it comes to adding a gate, consider an Oriental roofed gate or a pair of heavy square cedar gates.

While western style gardens might feature a gazebo, Oriental gardens might instead feature an open-air pavilion or some other simple open-air structure. Ideally these might be installed beside a water feature like a pond, but they can be placed near any idyllic view. Four posts topped by an Oriental-style umbrella can serve as an open-air shelter. Add a Shoji screen to your pavilion to create a greater sense of privacy or to divide the space for entertaining.

Traditional Japanese stone lanterns come in a myriad of styles and will add classic beauty to any place in the landscape or garden. However, for the patio, consider something more dramatic like showy red paper lanterns or contemporary style done with Oriental flavor. There are also many attractive bamboo and paper tabletop lanterns that will help light up the patio.

Some Oriental gardens might feature statuary to ornament their setting. Tranquil stone Buddhas, painted pagodas or resin-designed Geisha can add exotic beauty to any area of the landscape. Dragons, typical symbols of Chinese emperors, may also be placed to provide a sense of the Orient. Or, consider a lucky three-legged toad placed in a nook out in the garden.

Even something as simple and functional as a pot can become a dramatic addition to the space. A large ginger jar holding bamboo or a smaller painted fish bowl might easily keep a bouquet of chrysanthemums—both provide the perfect accent to a patio or porch. Look for a trellis in an eastern style such as a wide fan-shaped trellis to hold an Oriental climbing plant.

Other items that will be delightful accents for the courtyard garden, patio or porch include bamboo wind chimes, Chinese gongs, temple bells, incense burners, woven mats, brass rain chains, bamboo benches, garden parasols, bonsai, and more. Plant choice is also a great way to add Oriental drama to a space. From peonies to cherry trees, there are many wonderful Oriental plants that will happily grow in a wide variety of climates.

With the wide array of props and ornaments available, it will be no problem to outfit the garden. Even adding just one or two props will add a subtle touch of the exotic Far East.

By J. A. Young

Fruits are only made if the flowers were successful and will not be found on male-only plants. The purpose of the fruit is to grow and distribute the seeds. Some, like rowan berries, are carried in large showy clusters to attract birds to feed on them and inadvertently carry the seeds away with them. Many plants which have fleshy fruits have seeds which benefit from passing through the gut, as this helps germination. It also ensures that each seed is planted with its own capsule of nutrients; many bramble plants start life beneath the favored perches of songbirds. Others, such as sycamore or dandelion, have the seeds modified so that the wind carries them to new territory. A few are designed to stick to passing animals and to drop off later.

For good fruit effect, the plants need to flower well, including having plants of both sexes present for some species, and have sufficient food and nutrients available to develop the fruits. Potassium fertilizer will assist in the ripening of fruits. Early flowering plants, such as some fruit trees, benefit from shelter so that flowers (and thus fruits) are not lost due to frost or bad weather.

Seeds

The seed is the blueprint for the next generation. It has to be able to support the new plant until it can carry out its own photosynthesis. It also needs to be able to germinate at the right time. Many plants will germinate immediately the conditions are suitable but most have some form of dor­mancy to prevent them germinating at the wrong time. This is of special relevance in the context of weed seeds.

Stems and Branches

The purpose of the stem is twofold. It acts as the conduction tissue, between the roots and the aerial parts, for the transport of water and nutrients to the foliage and for the return passage of sugars and proteins to the roots. It also has the function of keeping the aerial parts up in the air. Young trees determine the amount of wood to make for structural needs by the way in which the stem bends in the wind; incorrect and over-staking can stop this feed­back and lead to too little stem growth.

Roots

The functions of roots are to anchor the plant in the soil and to extract nutrients and water. Roots do the former by being in contact with a large volume of soil.

Roots can only grow in soil conditions which suit them; few species will root in waterlogged or compacted soil; neither can roots grow through dry soil, although they will not die if part of the soil around them becomes very dry.

In some plants, a bacterium associated with the roots is able to ‘fix’ nitrogen from the air to make it into a form usable as a nutrient. Clover and many other legumes, as well as alders are able to do this. The bacterium receives sugars from the plant, in return for nitrogen in a form in which the plant can use it.

If you understand a little about the nature of plants, you can enjoy them more, look after their nutrition, and control pests and weeds, with more confidence.

Plant nutrition

The essential difference between plants and animals is that plants are able to make their own food from raw materials, while animals can only eat either plants or other animals.

In making their food, plants use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to make sugars, by the process called photosynthesis. Sun­light is trapped by the chlorophyll in the leaves – the substance that makes leaves green – and its energy is used in combining water and carbon dioxide; during that process the oxygen which we ourselves need for breathing is released. The carbon dioxide required is extracted by the leaves from the small quantities always present in the atmo­sphere. Water is drawn up from the soil by the roots, although small quantities can also enter through the leaves.

The sugars made in the leaves are con­verted into other organic products using nutrients extracted from the soil.The sugars and other products are moved around through the plant to provide food for growth, for storage, or for reproduction. The nutrients and water are carried up to the leaves from the roots in the sap; nearly all of the water extracted from the soil is used not in photosynthesis but to keep the leaves rigid and is lost in transpiration.

For this essential first stage of sugar manu­facturing to work, several conditions must be satisfied. The leaves must be able to obtain carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which means that the breathing pores or stomata in them must be open; very windy weather or a shortage of water in the plant will result in them being shut to conserve moisture and thereby prevent photosynthesis. The leaves must be exposed to sunlight, as photosyn­thesis cannot take place in the dark. Also nutrients must be available, both for the manufacture of the next stage (otherwise the concentration of sugars will prove lethal) and the previous one so that chlorophyll and other enzymes are available.

Flowers

 The ‘perfect’ flower consist of sepals, petals, ovaries, stigmas, styles, stamens with anthers and filaments, and nectaries. Its function is to enable the fertilization of egg cells by the pollen, so leading to the produc­tion of seeds to make the next generation. Many flowers are not ‘perfect’ and one or more of the above parts may be missing.

The sepals are often rather green and leafy and are mainly involved in protecting the flower buds. In a few species they become highly colored and act like petals, eg in clematis. The petals are usually the attractive parts of the flowers, giving the floral display. The ovaries are where the seeds are devel­oped and the stamens where the pollen is manufactured and shed.

Most flowers are designed for pollination by various animals, including birds, but some plants are wind pollinated, e.g. hazel, and these have no need for showy petals. In wind-pollinated plants, the flowers tend to be placed where the wind will catch them, or to open before the leaves. To induce insects to visit, many flowers secrete sugar-rich nectar. Fragrance is also used to attract pollinators.

In many plants, the flowers are imperfect, that is only one sex is present. This is a device to ensure cross-pollination and avoid self-breeding; if these plants are grown for their fruit, both sexes must be present. Hollies are an example.

An alternative strategy for ensuring cross-pollination is for the plant’s own pollen to be ineffective at fertilizing the flowers. Here the flowers must be fertilized by pollen from a different plant of the same species if fruit and seed are to be formed. Many fruit trees, especially apples, have this mechanism and will only crop if two or more compatible trees are growing nearby.

Many garden plants are selected with abnormal flowers, such as extra petals. Some of these abnormalities occur naturally in certain groups of plants. For instance, a number of clematis have extra petal-like structures which are modified stamens and are called staminoides.

In most plants, flowers are only produced by specimens which are growing satisfactorily. The incitement to produce flowers often follows on a build-up in the amount of sugars in the top of the plant. In fruit trees, this can be artificially stimulated by partially girdling the stem, thereby restricting the passage of sugars down to the roots. Plants will not flower well if grown in more shade than the species likes, although other plants will not tolerate full sun. A severe pruning will cause the plant to concentrate on vegeta­tive growth at the expense of flower produc­tion.

The first question to ask is ‘Who will be using the garden?’ Its design revolves around the answer. Here are three examples of how the owners’ requirements affect garden design.

FOR THE YOUNG WORKING COUPLE

Due to lack of time for spending in the garden and for working in it, they will probably want a low-maintenance garden. Shrubs and groundcover plants will be chosen rather than herbaceous material, and a simple layout omitting work-intensive features such as rockeries or pools. Entertaining in the garden area near the house and detailed planting around this area will be required.

Seasonal variety must be provided by the shrub and groundcover planting rather than bulbs, annuals and herbaceous perennials. Garden lighting may also be of particular interest.

FOR A FAMILY

There is inevitably a conflict between keeping the garden beautiful and the active habits – or destructive moods – of most children at some stages. There has to be some compromising. However by planning for children’s needs and accepting that the whole family should enjoy and use the garden, much can be achieved.

A good-sized lawn area for play near, but not too close to the house will be desirable and this should be away from vulnerable planting. An area for a climbing frame and sand pit may be allocated, preferably within sight of the kitchen or workroom. In a large garden, any out-of-sight, neglected and overgrown area will be of great interest: young children love to have their own private areas where hideouts can be constructed and demolished at will. Encouraging this type of activity will help keep them out of your own special-interest areas.

As children grow up and the family changes, so must the garden. Think ahead for the time when the sand pit and the hideout making era has gone. The sand pit might become an ornamental pool, the neglected area could be tidied and developed as part of the ornamental garden, or else extended and managed as a wild garden area, encouraging native flora and fauna.

FOR AN ELDERLY COUPLE

Time available for appreciation of the garden may be greater after retiring from working life, but physical strength and agility will inevitably limit the type of garden that can be maintained. A low-maintenance garden similar to that required by a young couple with restricted time would again be suitable, although the aesthetic requirements may be different. There will also be a difference in the type of maintenance that can be tackled. For the elderly, garden work should be easy to do though not necessarily quick. Shrub borders should not be too wide, making some plants difficult or impossible to reach.

Lawn mowing and the handling of garden machinery generally becomes more of an effort, so they should consider whether to have a very small lawn or alternatively devote a large part of the garden to grass so that the entire area can be cut by a ‘ride-on’ mower.

Paved sitting areas will be important and the provision of permanent seating and low walls will be much appreciated. Obtaining a sun tan may be lower on the list of essentials, whereas having some shade on a hot day is more important. Incorporating trees and shrubs that flower throughout the year and possibly winter-flowering varieties visible from the house will be of enormous value.

After looking at a mere three categories of garden user, without even considering the enthusiastic gardener with special interests, the significance can be seen of considering carefully just what is important to you, the garden owner. These are the general guiding requirements which form the type of garden.

Lawns – turf or seed

There are advantages and disadvantages to turfing and seeding and it would be wrong to advise ones preference. To a certain extent price is an important consideration. Seeding is certainly cheaper. Turf is variable in quality and price, the best being a specialist seeded turf such as ‘Fescue’ or Bermuda’, which is itself sold in a number of grades. The next is good quality or special meadow turf and at the lower end, standard meadow turf.

If you want a good lawn without coarse grasses you should go for the ‘fescue’ (or similar), but it is twice the price of good meadow turf which for most people is adequate. Standard meadow turf should generally be avoided as it will have a lot of coarse grass and possibly other weeds. The problem generally with non-seeded (or naturally seeded) turfs are the presence of coarse grasses which cannot be selectively killed. There is no chemical that will distinguish one grass from another and in this respect fescue’ and similar seeded turfs are of great advantage. Turfing has a considerable advantage if you have a poor stony soil. A seeded area can take a while before developing sufficiently to smother the stones.

Apart from the savings, sowing a lawn does guarantee that you have a control of the grass species in the lawn. This can be particularly advantageous if you wish to have a lawn in a shaded area or an extremely wet or dry part of the garden. A seed merchant will be able to advise which mixture is the most suitable. You will find, however, that some unwanted broadleaf weeds and coarse grass seedlings will appear in your lawn as there will be dormant seeds in your soil which will germinate at the same time as the sown grass. Most will be annuals or tall perennials which will not survive regular grass mowing. A mild broadleaf weed killer may be used at an early stage without damage to the young grass seedlings.

Turf may be laid almost throughout the year, with the exception of periods of drought or frozen ground. If you turf during the summer it will be essential to water regularly and thoroughly the entire area as it is prone to drying out and shrinking in the early period before rooting into the soil. When to sow seed is more critical. For best results the spring period (April/May) will produce very quick germination. Similarly late August/September. At other times of the year when germination is either slow (or when very cold completely delayed) other weed seeds will germinate at these lower temperatures and compete with the grass when it starts its growth in the warmer weather.

Soil mounding/cut and fill Soil mounding is hardly a soft landscape ‘material’ but nevertheless it needs discussion. Soil mounding and grading is another one of those areas where subtlety and skill are essential for success. A relatively small rise in soil level will have a surprising effect and often transform an otherwise flat garden. It is all too easy to have a load of soil delivered, rake it over a little and leave it ‘as dumped’ and expect it not to look like a burial mound!

You need to try and copy nature and re-create it on a smaller scale in a garden. A gently rolling landscape with the very gradual slopes required to give a soft appearance to the eye. Soil mounding can greatly assist screening exercises and is instant. Mounding can also reduce road noise and is particularly advantageous for establishing planting in areas that would otherwise be flat and poorly drained.

Trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants
Here the overall design is considered, and for this purpose it is assumed that you are planning a garden which is empty of plantings. Deciding which plants to include in your garden and preparing detailed planting plans is one of the most time consuming planning operations. There are after all so many plants to choose from and so many restraints; suitability to the soil, height, flower colors, spread, leaf shape, tolerance of shade, speed of growth, and so on.

Faced with a vacant garden one can easily be daunted by this planning and be tempted to go to the garden center and pick up what happens to be looking good at the time. A grave mistake, and you still have to decide where to put them and discover that perhaps you haven’t chosen the right plant for the right reason. It is helpful to first write out a check list of all your favorite plants that would be suitable to include in the garden, or garden area you are considering. Divide the list into trees, shrubs, herbaceous and ground cover plants. This ’suitability’ list is often a very encouraging start. You must remember to omit the obvious plants, and large trees if the garden is too small for them, and add more detailed constraints as you progress. The same exercise is equally valuable if you are planning just one border. This ‘basic suitability list’ or ‘pool’ of plants to choose from can then be used to form the framework of your planting design.

Herbaceous Beds

A traditional herbaceous border without question is a spectacle. Unfortunately, there is a considerable amount of work involved in creating a successful border. To obtain the traditional effect a good deal of space is required. All other planting types are excluded and the achievement is a riot of color during the summer period only. The alternative is to use herbaceous material in groups within other shrub planting. The great advantage of this type of herbaceous planting is that a relatively small area is covered with the time-consuming plants, the larger areas can be of shrubs and ground-smothering perennials, specie roses, etc.

The effects of mixed planting can in fact be more satisfactory than the traditional herbaceous border, particularly as the season will be extended throughout the winter. Even in the small garden the same principles can be applied. When allocating space for a traditional herbaceous border, it should be noted that in order to achieve diversity of heights it will be necessary to make the border at least 8ft wide, depending on the scale of the garden. A narrow herbaceous border generally does not work satisfactorily.

Rock Gardens

The rockery is very often the ugliest part of a garden, and yet thousands of gardens have them. One of the problems with a rockery is that unless it is extremely well made it will look out of place. A rock garden should look as if it has always been there. There is nothing worse than the ‘pile of stones’ or ‘bits of concrete’ left over from the clearance of building sites.

In general, it is not advisable to include a rockery in the garden. If it is to be included, be sure to use large stones and make use of the natural slope of the land. The rocks should ideally look like a possible outcrop of boulders. As large stones are going to be used, it will probably be necessary to employ a contractor with the necessary equipment to position and set your rockery stones correctly.

Talus and Alpine Gardens

These should preferably be associated with rock features and natural slopes. In terms of allocating space, talus and alpine gardens can be as small as you like, even to the point of being an alpine garden in an old stone sink. In contrast you could have a large talus feature, but it should preferably be put into the context of the entire garden rather than treated as a separate entity.